


Padawan Yzil

by 20SomethingSuperHeroes



Series: Memoirs of a Jedi Apprentice [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, Jedi, Jedi Temple, Jedi Training, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Memoirs, Padawan, Pre-Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, References to the Jedi Council, Young Anakin Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 11:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6194332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/20SomethingSuperHeroes/pseuds/20SomethingSuperHeroes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Known on Earth as Emily Bridger, Ereh Saw Yzil was once a Jedi Apprentice in the years leading up to the rise of the Empire.  Now, Yzil tells her story in her own words, giving a brief account of how she was found by her master, Phish Nish, and brought to the Jedi Order, and her first adventure with the legendary Obi-wan Kenobi and his wayward apprentice Anakin Skywalker...</p><p>Setting: 28-26 BBY</p>
            </blockquote>





	Padawan Yzil

How is it you Earthlings begin stories of my home galaxy? Oh, yes:

A long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

I suppose I should begin with my master. Master Phish Nish was a Jedi Knight in the last days of the Republic. He was a human, taken into the Jedi Order as a small child from Ibaar, and as a matter of fact was a youngling in the same age group as another famous Jedi you may have heard of, Qui-Gon Jinn. Nish’s master was an Adeena named Sculp Howe, who was killed before I was ever born. Before he found me, Phish Nish had already trained two padawans, a Sullustan named Oddo Garrian and another human, Kras Laran. Nish was tall, and in his younger years wore his dark hair long, but not long after taking me he cut it. It often grew out long enough between haircuts, however, that it framed his face all shaggy and gray, and he favored a beard and mustache as well. He wielded a purple lightsaber.

Phish Nish had not been planning on taking another padawan. But it happened that one day, three years after Qui-Gon’s death, he was on an assignment from the Jedi Council in the underlevels of Coruscant, down in one of those places where the sun never reaches. He was chasing a bounty hunter who had murdered another Jedi. 

His search led him to a home where there lived a mother with six children--as it turned out only five of them were hers. The sixth was a skinny, dirty human girl, an orphan who had been left by a pair of freighter trampers that couldn’t afford to keep her. And this child was Force-sensitive. Phish Nish had reached a dead end in his search (the bounty hunter ended up being found by someone else). Before he left, however, the lady of the house asked the Jedi to take the unwanted child with him back to the Jedi Temple, because she didn’t know what else do with her--she was just another mouth for her struggling family to feed. So Phish Nish took the girl back with him to the Jedi Temple. And yes, that girl was me--Ereh Saw Yzil. I was six.

When Master Nish gave his report to the Jedi Council, he presented me to them. I passed all of their tests with flying colors, and they sent me to begin my training with the younglings. 

I barely remember my parents carrying me wherever they went as they crossed the galaxy in search of work. I don’t remember being upset by them leaving me on Coruscant. I don’t even remember their faces. I only lived with that other family for a few months, and I barely remember them either. But those few childhood memories were quickly crowded out by my new life. I was now a Jedi youngling, soon to be a Padawan. My instructors told me that I had great potential for advancement within the Order. 

I had no idea before entering the Jedi Temple that I was Force-sensitive. But I quickly learned that I had the unique ability to tap into the mystical energy field that binds and unites the universe--or that galaxy, at least. I was trained to use it to understand the world around me and to make it manipulate my surroundings, and it was quickly applied to a rigorous program of technology training, physical education, and courses in the geography and history of the galaxy. The Force, I was taught, gave a Jedi insight into all subjects worth knowing.

Master Phish Nish continued his solo service to the Jedi Order. However, he found that his thoughts were drawn to me sometimes. On occasion when he was walking through the halls of the Jedi Temple he would see me walking with my cohort of younglings or in a room off to one side training with them. Once or twice he came to visit me on purpose to see how I was doing. While the Jedi discouraged close relationships, they did not frown upon members of the order who inquired after the welfare of each other. But Master Nish found it curious that he was drawn to me. 

After I had been in the Jedi Temple for two years, I got a green kyber crystal and built a lightsaber. It happened that about that same time, Master Nish went before the Jedi Council, and he asked Grand Master Yoda what he thought about his attachment to the youngling called “little Yzil.”  
Master Yoda laughed and said, “Disregard these feelings you should not, Master Nish. The way of the Force it is to tell you, that as a Padawan you should take her.”  
The other members of the Jedi Council agreed that Master Nish should take me as an apprentice. So it was that, very reluctantly on Nish’s part, I became a Padawan Learner. I was eight.

 

For the reader's’ benefit, I should furnish them with a brief description of my appearance. I was never very tall, and as an eight-year-old I was one of the smaller younglings for my age group. I have always had a round face, very large green eyes, and a broad swath of freckles on my small nose. I have brown hair which, as a youngling and a padawan, was kept cut to my shoulders and always worn back in a ponytail. And, mandatory for all human female padawans, I had blunt bangs in addition to my padawan braid. It wasn’t until I was twelve that I was given a robe, so I could normally be seen in a beige tunic. 

Even though there are many on this planet who are enthusiasts of the galaxy where I came from regardless of who I knew, I still think it’s fortunate that I knew some of the major characters in the story as well as I did. Of course, I didn’t think I was quite so lucky when I was a padawan. As I mentioned, Master Nish had known the late Qui-Gon Jinn as a youngling, and they had been reasonably good friends during the intervening years. Obi-Wan Kenobi was sort of close to my master but not that close. It was an obligatory relationship, like with a distant cousin you only meet at a family reunion and then randomly run into somewhere else but you’re glad to see them anyway.

Anakin Skywalker was fifteen when I first met him, and that when I was nine. He was a tall, gangly, teenager who already had a reputation for trouble. I first met him on our masters’ joint assignment to Garel. Nish and I were given the assignment on Coruscant and then instructed to pick up Skywalker and Kenobi on the planet Christophsis. They were waiting for us at the spaceport there when we emerged from our transport. Nish and Kenobi hadn’t seen each other in a while and greeted each other warmly, shaking hands and Obi-wan patting Nish on the back. I remember looking up at Master Kenobi and feeling smaller than usual, especially when he looked down at me with his hands on his hips.

“So this is your new Padawan?” said Obi-wan, smiling at me.

“Yes, Padawan number three,” Nish said, nodding.

“Well, how do you do, young one?” he said, bending down. “What is your name?”

“I am Ereh Saw Yzil,” I said. “A pleasure to meet you, Master Kenobi.” I gave him a bow.

“Charming to meet you, I’m sure.” He looked back up at Nish. “So did the Council talk you into taking this one?”

“Well--the Force, rather,” said Nish, shrugging. “The Council seemed to think it was a good idea.”

Obi-wan nodded and glanced over his shoulder at his apprentice, who hadn’t spoken yet. “I know what you mean, sort of. Have you met my Padawan?”

“No, I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure,” said Nish. “But I know that Qui-Gon was keen to take him. And of course, young Skywalker’s reputation proceeds him.” He meant that in a positive way. Obi-wan gestured for Anakin to come forward. 

“Anakin, this is Phish Nish, an old friend of Qui-Gon’s. And his apprentice Yzil.”

Anakin bowed to us but said nothing, keeping his arms tucked in his sleeves. I opened my mouth to say something, but then Nish cut me off.

“An honor to meet you, Young Skywalker,” said Phish Nish. “Well, I suppose we had best not keep our pilots waiting. On to Garel!” Feeling a bit miffed, I followed the two masters and Anakin wordlessly onto the ship.

Anakin and I sat in the passenger compartments in the back of the ship on the same bench while our masters sat up front with the pilots. It was a really boring, gray space, no windows to look out of. After about half an hour of both of us staring at the floor, I decided to take my master’s advice to always be the one to break the ice and at least attempt a conversation.

“So...Anakin, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re from Tatooine, I hear?”

“Maybe.”

“Got any family back there?”

“Yeah, my mom. She’s a slave.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you a slave too?”

He didn’t answer but slightly glared at me.

“Oh.” I nodded. “Master Nish has told me about how Master Qui-Gon Jinn found you. Cool story. So, uh...you and Obi-wan get along?”

“Maybe.”

“You, uh, ever had shaved ice? They make cool shaved ice on Cadnoda.”

“I haven’t been there before.”

“I haven’t been there, either, but there’s a cool shaved ice stand on Corellia, my master let me try some. But of course, the guy who owns it is Cadnodan, they make it best.”  
Anakin nodded. Clearly shaved ice did not interest him.

“So, uh, what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever done?”

No answer.

“I know, it’s a tough question, right, this galaxy is full of strange stuff. I’ll give you a minute to think about it. But off the top of my head, the weirdest thing I can think of--”

Master Nish entered the compartment. “Good day, padawans. Obi-wan thought I ought to check on you, see how you were getting along. Erm, Yzil, do you mind if we have a moment in the hall?”

“Sure.” I had nothing better to do.

We went into the hallway of the spaceship. Master Nish leaned over me and said, “If you don’t mind me saying, but Obi-wan and I could sense the awkwardness all the way from the bridge. I know you’re trying to make friends, but there’s a difference between polite conversation and useless prattle. And of all the other people for you to be tormenting, Anakin Skywalker is the one I think you should be least interested in bothering. Is that understood?”

I bowed my head a little. “Yes, master.”

“Good. Now, I want you to sit back down and mind your own business. Meditate. Try to focus on feeling the Force. Do not speak with him unless you have something meaningful to say.”

“Yes, master.”  
I returned to the cabin and sat on the bench. Skywalker and I did not speak. I tried meditating like my master had suggested, but I quickly lost interest. After a short while, Anakin fell asleep, and pretty soon I simply leaned over on the side of the bench and dozed off. I was half-afraid that one of our masters would come in and wake us up, but when we woke up a short while later it was because of turbulence from entering Garel’s atmosphere, and by the time our masters came for us we were fully awake.

Our assignment was a peacekeeping mission to protect the interests of the Jedi Order. Some disgruntled entity had created a holonet site that transmitted anti-Jedi propaganda, telling the people of the galaxy that we were dangerous and not to be trusted. While the Republic had laws against private organizations shutting down others’ free speech, the catch was that the holo site was encouraging violence against the Jedi, including public terrorism. The source of the holo site had been traced to Garel City--all the way, of course, in the Outer Rim, where the galactic government wasn’t as strong. But they should have known we’d come for them eventually.

Our Republic transport landed in a hangar in Garel City. The air outside was dry and the city streets dusty. The four of us didn’t attract that much attention on our way to the city police station. 

“So what’s the scoop on this planet, Nish?” asked Obi-wan. “I’ve never been here.”

“I’ve never been here, either,” said Master Nish. “Most of the cities and towns on this planet are walled in. Everything else is desert. Not many native monsters.”

“Well, that’s a relief to hear,” said Obi-wan. “I prefer to keep my monster encounters to a minimum on assignments.”

“I’ve remember your horror stories about you and Qui-Gon’s trip to Naboo, Obi-wan,” said Nish, chuckling. “I wouldn’t go to the Nubian swamps even if you paid me.”

“There’s more to Naboo than just swamps, Master Nish,” Anakin spoke up.

“Anakin, we weren’t talking to you,” said Obi-wan a little sharply. 

“Of course there’s more to Naboo than just swamps,” I spoke up. 

“Have you been there?” asked Anakin, suddenly sounding eager.

“No, but I’ve read about it. Doesn’t anyone ever read stuff?”

“Yzil,” said Nish, half-groaning. 

Then I heard shouting from across the street. “Shaved ice! Fresh Cadnodan shaved ice!” I looked around and saw a vendor with a cart, a Cadnodan insignia on the awning that covered it.

I grabbed Master Nish’s robe. “Look, Master! Shaved ice!”

Nish stopped and looked around. “Oh, yes, I see, Yzil.” He turned back and continued to walk. 

“Master, can we get some shaved ice? Please?”

“Yzil, we are on an assignment from the Order. Please do not become distracted,” said Master Nish.

“Now, what’s this about?” Obi-wan asked.

“She wants some Cadnodan shaved ice.”

“Well, why don’t we get some?

“What?”

“I mean, later when we’re done with the assignment. If all goes well, it won’t hurt to indulge the Padawans a little. And it’s going to be a warm day today,” Obi-wan added, wiping his brow. “I could use a little shaved ice myself.”

“Well, let’s see that all goes well, first,” said Master Nish, tucking his arms inside his sleeves.

The local police station was within walking distance. We went there to confer with the chief of police--well, Obi-wan and Nish, rather. Anakin and I just lurked in the background and watched. The police chief showed us a hologram of Garel City and we were able to trace the holonet signal to an apartment on the edge of town. The chief had other matters to attend to but let one of his deputies, named Daris, and two policemen go with us to visit this apartment. We went in police speeders, Nish and I in one with Deputy Daris and Kenobi and Skywalker in another.

When we got out, the policemen pulled their visors over their helmets and readied their weapons. 

“Not to worry, Master Kenobi,” said Deputy Daris as he pulled out a blaster pistol to inspect it. “The boys and I will do most of the heavy lifting here.”

“We’ll let you do your job,” said Obi-wan. “I doubt much of the lifting will be heavy, anyway.”

“Master,” Anakin spoke up.

“Yes, Anakin?”

“Why do we even need to be here? I don’t like this planet: it’s too dusty. Couldn’t the Jedi Council have just let the local authorities take care of it?”

“Now, Anakin, you need to be patient,” said Obi-wan. “Concentrate: the Jedi Council wants to know what exactly is happening here.” 

I glared up at Anakin as we fell in step behind our masters. “Shame on you, for questioning the Jedi Council.” 

“Shut up, youngling.”

“Hey!”

“Yzil,” Nish said, glancing back at us, “if you belittle someone else, you will only get belittling in return.” 

Deputy Daris and the two officers walked ahead of us through a low archway into the apartment complex. Master Obi-wan glanced around the courtyard as we entered. There weren’t many signs of life. The signal we had traced had come from one of the ground-floor apartments at the rear of the complex. The two policemen walked ahead of their deputy and knocked on a door. 

“Open up! Garel City Police!” said Deputy Daris. 

There was someone inside, and through the Force I sensed their discomfort at the police arriving. 

“Open up! We have a warrant!”

The deputy nodded, and the two officers broke down the door to force entry. We Jedi entered behind them.

The person we’d found, a female Mirialan, raised her hands from behind her desk as we came in. Her embarrassment turned to disgust when she saw the two Jedi masters.

“Well, I should have guessed you would trace me here sooner or later,” said the woman sourly. She had square face markings on each of her cheeks, right beneath the eyes, and she wore a white vest over a brown work suit. Her hair was bound in two low buns behind her ears.

“Officers, stand down,” said Master Nish. “We’d like to ask you a few questions. May we take a seat?”

“Of course,” said the woman coldly. 

Masters Nish and Kenobi pulled up two chairs in front of her desk. Anakin and I stood in the background with the policemen.

“Now, what’s your name?” asked Obi-wan.

“Kimila. What do you want with me?”

“Are you the person in charge of the Galactic Observer?” asked Nish.

“Yes.”

“Where are the others?” he said firmly.

Kimila didn’t answer. 

“Where are the others?”

Most people didn’t last long under a Jedi interrogation, because Jedi always have a way of finding out the truth when you’re not telling. Kimila wasn’t an exception, though she was putting up a bit of a fight.

Kimila swallowed. “I work alone. But I report to Oreel Nabath on Kodet. I’m in charge of the news reporting.”

“For what?”

“I’m not telling,” she said, biting her lip.

“If you’re in charge, then who else is contributing to the site?” asked Obi-wan. 

“No one is!”

“Kimila, please, you will only make this harder for yourself,” said Master Nish. “You are part of a much larger organization, I know it.”

“Yes--but only a part. I don’t know anything about what the others are doing. They don’t keep me informed.” She was getting nervous. She glanced at Nish and Kenobi, then at the policemen and the padawans. “Divide and conquer, that’s how we work. We compartmentalize.”

“You’re not as ignorant of your friends’ activities as you say you are,” said Obi-wan.

Kimila took a few deep breaths. Her eyes were on the lowered blasters of the policemen. “We’re called the Cabinet. We take the interference of the Jedi in galactic affairs very seriously.” She knitted her brows at the two Jedi masters. “I think you should know better than to break into a private residence for illegal questioning.”

“We work with the local and galactic authorities whenever possible--you know that,” said Obi-wan. 

“Why are you telling lies about us?” asked Master Nish. “Why would you defame the Jedi Order?”

“I’m not telling lies, I’m telling the truth!” said Kimila. “The public needs to know what the Jedi are really up to! Stealing infants from their families to join their exclusive club, labeling private citizens and public corporations as good and evil. You know perfectly well what you’re doing.”

“So you are working for these people, this ‘Cabinet,’ out of a sense of duty,” said Obi-wan. “Very noble. But how about your friends: what do they work for?”

“They’re not my friends.”

Master Nish chuckled. “Oh, yes, but you do care about these people quite a bit, don’t you? There is at least some mutual interest in each others’ welfare. How did you end up working with them?”

“It’s none of your business.” 

Obi-wan and Nish looked at each other, then back at her.

“All right. I was approached for this job on Hosnian Prime. You happy?”

“How did you meet them?” asked Obi-wan.

“Nowhere important.” She succeeded in not giving them any more details, although she was trembling. She was very afraid for some reason.

“And are they paying you?”

“It’s just a side job, really,” Kimila said, giving a little nervous laugh. “Just a few extra credits a month. My regular job is at the refinery--I’m going to be late, by the way. My shift starts in an hour or so.”

“Today is your day off,” said Nish.

“I was going to cover for someone--please let me go.” Kimila stood up, but Obi-wan and Nish stood up and grabbed her gently by the arms.

“Is the Cabinet going to hurt you for betraying them?” asked Obi-wan.

“No, I’ll be fine,” said Kimila, shaking her head. 

“We can take you to a more secure location, if it would help,” said Obi-wan.

Kimila swallowed and looked away. She was considering their offer, but she wasn’t a huge fan of being taken away.

“Let’s go ahead and take you,” said Master Nish. He grabbed her by the arm across the desk and stood her up.

Deputy Daris walked forward. “Do you want binders, sir?” he asked.

“That won’t be necessary, Deputy,” said Nish. He kept a firm grip on Kimila’s arm as he led her around her desk. She glanced at him uncomfortably.

“Lead the way, sir,” said Obi-wan. The two policemen went out first and stood by the door as we walked outside with our suspect. 

“I’m telling you, I don’t know anything else about the Cabinet,” said Kimila.

“Oh, really? You strike me as the kind of person who likes to know who they’re working for,” said Obi-wan. In spite of his bravado, Obi-wan was nervous about something. 

Anakin and I trailed behind, Anakin kicking the dirt when he stepped outside. As much as I resented having to sit and watch in the background, he was really upset about it. I was more preoccupied with his sullenness than our surroundings as we exited the apartment complex. Then as we came through the archway, Obi-wan shouted “GET DOWN!” and jumped on top of me and Anakin. I heard a blaster shot go off, and as Master Obi-wan and his apprentice got off from me I saw that Master Nish and Kimila had fallen to the ground. The two policemen and Deputy Daris started firing back. Someone was shooting us from the roof of the next building over. Master Nish sat up and got his lightsaber out and deflected some of the blaster shots that were coming our way. Obi-wan got up and drew his weapon, as did Anakin. Master Nish nudged me mentally to take care of Deputy Daris, who had fallen to the ground. Kimila was dead.

Daris was sitting up and clutching his side when I reached him. “You four go get them. I can take care of myself,” he said to me, breathing heavily. 

My master was running up to the side of the building followed by Kenobi. Anakin was getting into one of our parked police speeders. He gestured for me to follow. Our two masters jumped up to the roof as the shooters--there were three of them--turned and ran. 

“Where are we going?” I asked Anakin once I’d climbed in and we’d taken off.

“Blast these controls! I don’t know, wherever they’re going, I guess.” We drove a couple of blocks, some passing speeders crashing behind us as we swerved wildly through the streets. I was beginning to feel my breakfast come up.

One of the shooters appeared on the corner of a building ahead of us and shot the engine of our speeder before we were ready to react. Anakin lost control of the steering and we crashed into a stack of boxes on the side of the street. Neither of us were very injured, but I was getting pretty irritated with him.

Masters Nish and Kenobi jumped down from the roof of a nearby building and came running to us. Master Nish was all fatherly concern. Obi-wan was more like, Anakin, What did you do this time? 

“Are you all right?” Master Nish asked, reaching me first.

“Yes,” I said. I had already climbed out of the wreckage. My legs were bruised and banged up but I had no serious injuries. I saw Obi-wan looking at Anakin, thinking his padawan could have killed me, Anakin looking back at his master and thinking it wasn’t a big deal. 

“Where are those guys going?”

“They’ve jumped into an alley close by,” said Obi-wan. “We have to cut them off before they get out of town.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Anakin. 

“This way,” said Nish. “Sabers at the ready.” Everyone pulled out their lightsabers and carried them, ready to activate, and started running down one of the side streets.

“This is why I prefer leaving the Padawans at the Temple,” said Obi-wan breathlessly as we ran.

“Yes, well, how will they get any real-world experience if they get left behind all the time?” said Master Nish. “We can’t just let them sit and watch simulators all day. And when will they learn to take care of themselves?”

We stopped at a corner at the entrance to a dark alley. “Anakin can take pretty good care of himself,” said Obi-wan quietly. “I just like to keep him where he can’t get into trouble.”

Obi-wan didn’t see it, but Anakin was glaring at him. He hated when his master talked about him like that.

Everyone fell quiet, sensing with the Force the presence of the three shooters. They were all hiding in different nooks and crevices of the alley, their weapons ready to fire as soon as we came into sight.

Master Nish looked down at me and gave a command telepathically. Keep your lightsaber out but only use it to defend yourself. Do not fight these brutes. I don’t want you getting hurt.

Yes, Master, I told him. I would let the grown-ups do the fighting--not that I considered Anakin much of a grown-up.

Master Nish entered the alley first, drawing his lightsaber. The shooting began immediately. Kenobi and Skywalker went after him. I took up the rear, deflecting stray blaster shots with my lightsaber and moving slowly. The other three were trying to get close to the shooters. Master Nish was within ten yards of the first one, however, when he stopped shooting. I saw him throw his arm back to beckon his comrades to cease firing and retreat. All three of them were red Niktos with thick skin and horny heads, and all wearing leather suits. The leader wore black while the other two wore brown and white, though not matching. The three shooters began to run back down the alley. 

Nish nodded backwards to communicate telepathically with myself and Skywalker and Kenobi. Obi-wan and Anakin would go around the block to cut them off at the city wall. I would help my master in the pursuit. We went our separate ways. The three shooters only occasionally stopped to shoot back at Master Nish and I as we ran. Nish made me duck behind pillars or in doorways to avoid being hit. He would get out his lightsaber only if the shot came too close: Nish was adamant about lightsaber safety and he was very opposed to running with it drawn. 

We got around the block and we could see our friends at the end of the street, waiting to cut off the shooters. They already had their lightsabers out and were repelling the shots as they came forward. The three shooters decided they’d had enough and jumped up the side of the building to the left, using the rivets in the wall to scale it. They were actually pretty good climbers. The leader had gotten to the top just as Master Nish jumped to the roof with his lightsaber out: the lead shooter got out his blaster and fired twice. A third shot hit the roof right in front of where he was standing, knocking him over. As soon as the other two were up there with him, the lead shooter ran across the roof to the left towards the city wall. Master Kenobi, Anakin, and I all jumped up to the roof to pursue, but by the time we’d gotten there our suspects had jumped over the wall. We ran to the edge of the roof just in time to see the three of them zipping off into the desert on their speeders.

“Well,” said Obi-wan. He and I turned our attention to Master Nish. Anakin was watching the snipers flee.

“Are you all right, Phish?” asked Obi-wan, kneeling down to help my master.

“I’m all right, Obi-wan, just a bit banged up,” said Master Nish as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “It seems our quarry has eluded us, however.”

Anakin was looking at us.

“Do we go after them?” asked Obi-wan.

“Yes--but first we go to the police station to inform them of what had happened and to get transportation,” said Master Nish. “And also we need to check on Deputy Daris, as well.”

“Are you sure this isn’t trivial enough to just let the police catch them, sir?” asked Anakin.

Obi-wan looked at Anakin and sighed.

“Young Skywalker, we do not yet know what we are dealing with,” said Master Nish. “Those gunmen came to stop our suspect from giving us information, not merely to kill us. If you ask me, this Cabinet organization isn’t up to any good.”

“I should think that much was obvious,” I said.

“There now, Yzil.” Master Nish preferred me to keep quiet.

We descended from the roof, Obi-wan and Nish taking a back way down some steps since he was injured. We ran back to the apartment complex. Another police vehicle was waiting for us--the officer waiting said that Deputy Daris had said to meet us there. So the four of us piled into the speeder and drove back to the police headquarters. Master Nish was treated for his injury and he and Obi-wan gave a report of our chase to the chief of police. A few injections of painkillers, and Master Nish announced that it was time for us to go again. The police gave us a satchel of food supplies, some bedrolls, and three speeder bikes--I was supposed to ride with Master Nish.

We set out for the edge of town and left the city wall through a gate. We didn’t have a signal for tracing the shooters, so my master and Obi-wan followed the Force. Anakin just followed on his speeder. I clung onto my master for dear life: I’d ridden on one of these before with him but I wasn’t a huge fan of fast-moving open vehicles, especially as a little girl. But at the same time I was trying very hard not to squeeze Nish’s injured chest.

We rode for two hours out to the west of Garel City. The landscape was mostly rock, with cliffs and low mountains of purple and gray stones eroded by the wind, various lumps and rock pinnacles sticking out in places. At sunset we came across a place that looked like our attackers had stopped to rest earlier. After examining the site, we found a campsite of our own a short distance away. We ate from our food rations cold and then rolled out our sleeping pallets. The stars were numerous and bright, away from the city, and it was some comfort looking up at them while I fell asleep. I was wrapped in my robe as tightly as I could and shivered, it was so cold, surprising for how warm it had been during the day.

 

The next morning Master Nish shook me awake at the crack of dawn. We ate some more of our food rations and went on our way. Journeying a little towards the north, through a narrow canyon, we came across more signs of the shooters we were pursuing. Obi-wan even spied one of them watching us from the top of a cliff. 

After leaving the canyon, the two masters pulled over to the side to confer.

“They’ve stopped some distance up ahead,” said Obi-wan.

“And they’ll be expecting us,” said Master Nish. “I vote when we get within reasonable distance we park our bikes and then attack their camp. We’ll leave the Padawans behind.”

I didn’t object to this. Anakin, however, felt differently.

“Master, without me they’ll have you outnumbered,” said Anakin. “I can hold my own in a fight.”

“I know you can, Anakin,” said Obi-wan, eyeing him with concern. “But these assassins are dangerous. There’s no need to endanger you and Yzil’s lives needlessly.”

“Skywalker, I would appreciate if you would look after Yzil for me,” said Nish. “And you can call the Garel City police for reinforcements.”

“It’ll take hours for them to get here!”

“Not in a fast transport they won’t.”

“Fine,” Anakin grumbled, turning on the controls to his speeder. 

Considering that I would be stuck behind with Anakin while my master went off and risked his life, I was starting to object being left behind. But I grabbed Master Nish’s waist again and we took off.

An hour or so later, we were nearing our destination. We had traveled up a low, rocky summit to the edge of a cliff overlooking a low valley. The valley below was cut in half horizontally by a ridge of white rock. We could sense the shooters waiting for us there. 

Nish, Obi-wan, and Anakin parked the speeders a hundred yards from the edge of the cliff, from where we could see the ridge without anyone below seeing us. 

We dismounted from our speeders. 

“Master, are you all right?” I asked him. He had been struggling a little with the pain from yesterday’s injuries.

“I’m quite all right, Yzil,” he said. “Now, I want you and Anakin to wait in the rocks back there. We’ll come back and get you,” he told me, pointing at a cleft in the cliffs behind us.   
“And don’t leave Anakin’s sight.”

“I’ll be careful, Master,” I said.

“Good. Now get under cover.”

I turned to walk towards the hiding place he had indicated. Anakin, meanwhile, was getting lectured by Obi-wan.

“Anakin?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Just this once, can I trust you to do as I say and not rush into danger?”

“Of course, Master.”

Obi-wan gave a heavy sigh. “I’m counting on you, Anakin. Master Nish is counting on you to look after his Padawan.”

“Don’t worry, Master, I’ll look after her.”

I couldn’t read Anakin’s mind at the moment but I could tell you in hindsight that he didn’t mean a word of it.

I was waiting when Anakin finally turned around and came to hide with me in the rock cleft. I looked up at him expectantly.

“What?” he asked me

“You better do what Obi-wan tells you to.”

“Don’t worry. I always do as he says. Mostly, some of the time.”

He pulled out a comlink that Obi-wan had given him to call the Garel City Police. We both watched as our masters disappeared down the side of the cliff. All was quiet. We felt our masters going across the valley, sneaking across, ducking behind rocks and climbing around monoliths to avoid being seen. We felt the minds of the assassins watching for them, waiting for them to emerge.

Anakin’s comlink call ended, and afterward he and I continued to watch in silence. I thought I could see someone moving behind the white rocks, one of the shooters.  
I noticed that Obi-wan and Nish had two of the shooters in their sights as they approached. But I seemed to recall there being three. Anakin was thinking the same thing. We remained silent but uneasy.

After a long wait, Master Nish climbed over the white ridge and pulled out his lightsaber. The lead shooter started firing at him. Obi-wan appeared and snuck up behind the second shooter to wrestle with him. 

“Where’s the third guy?” I whispered to Anakin.

Anakin spotted him. He was hiding in the rocks on the near side of the ridge. Obi-wan and Nish had passed him. He had his blaster rifle out ready to shoot Obi-wan when his back was turned.

“Oh no no no no no!” Anakin muttered. He started running out of our hiding place towards the cliff.

“Anakin, what are you doing?” I shouted, running after him. “Master Obi-wan said to wait here! It’s too dangerous!” 

Anakin didn’t respond. He made it to the edge of the cliff and started to climb down. 

“Anakin, come back! You’re supposed to look after me!”

I was the furthest thing from his mind. He kept climbing down and reached the cliff foot in seconds.

I lowered myself onto the cliff face and started to climb down after him. Not far down, I had difficulty finding a foothold. When I stretched my leg out to find a place to rest it, my hand slipped a little. “Anakin!” I shouted. I turned my head around and saw him running in the opposite direction. He had his lightsaber out.

“STUPID ANAKIN!” I shouted after him. “COME BACK HERE, YOU DOOFUS!”

He didn’t even hear me. The third shooter was starting to fire at him. 

I spent the better part of the next half an hour dangling from the side of a cliff, mostly by one hand, marginally supported by the Force. It was about thirty feet down. If I wasn’t a Force-user, the fall would most likely have killed me. As it was, I was hungry and felt like I was going to starve to death if I stayed up there very long.

One thing Anakin Skywalker and I had in common was a fierce devotion to our masters. The difference was that I expressed mine by following orders. Anakin showed his by overreacting every time Obi-wan was in danger. Especially when Obi-wan was perfectly capable of helping himself.

I could have just let go and dropped, but there wasn’t a hundred-percent guarantee of me landing without breaking something.

What had I been thinking, following Anakin out there? Obviously, he was supposed to be protecting me. I’d tried to stop him from leaving. Well, no, I’d just followed him mindlessly off a cliff. Typical rookie mistake.

So I heard later, Master Obi-wan was able to wrestle the guy he’d tackled unconscious, and then he got his lightsaber out to help Nish, but then the third shooter had started firing at them but gotten distracted by Anakin. Anakin had climbed up the ledge the third shooter was on but then fallen. Nish used his lightsaber to cut off the barrel of the first shooter’s blaster rifle, and then him and Obi-wan both climbed over the ridge to stop the third guy. That was when they saw Anakin trying to climb back up the ledge. Obi-wan and Nish ran to the rescue, deflecting shots from the sniper as they ran. Then one of the other shooters regained consciousness and started shooting at them from behind. Obi-wan deflected the blaster shot back to the shooter’s chest, killing him. Nish and Anakin climbed up the ledge and got the third sniper to surrender. Nish picked him up and threw him off the ledge, cushioning his fall with the Force, and then he and Anakin joined Obi-wan on the ground.

Obi-wan, of course, was ticked off by Anakin’s behavior. He started berating him for disobeying orders, and Anakin started to argue back that they had needed his help after all.   
As soon as Master Nish could get a word in edgewise, however, he said, “Where is Yzil?”

Anakin suddenly felt very sheepish.

“Well, where is she?” asked Obi-wan. 

“I...er...I don’t know,” Anakin shrugged.

“You don’t know?” asked Obi-wan.

“She started following me when I came to rescue you, but I don’t know where she ended up.”

“Oh bother,” said Nish. He reached out with his mind to find me. “She’s hanging on the edge of the cliff.”

“Are you serious?” Obi-wan said, almost yelling.

The three of them took off without further arguing. When they found me, I was still hanging there. My arm was getting tired and I was becoming afraid of falling to my death. I was still screaming for them to come and find me, I’d actually started crying. I needed to pee and then some. I could not have been in a worse situation, at least as far as nine-year-old-me was concerned. (Dear nine-year-old-me: there are far worse things that can happen).

“Yzil!” Master Nish called to me from the foot of the cliff. “Are you all right?”

“Master! Help me!” I cried down to him.

Nish sighed. I was in a right state. There was no way he could get me to calm down and use the Force to get myself out of there. He and Obi-wan briefly discussed what to do while Anakin watched. 

“All right, Yzil, here’s the deal,” said Nish. “Just let go of the cliff. We’ll guide you down with the Force.”

“What?”

“Just trust us, Yzil!” Obi-wan added.

“When you’ve dropped about ten feet, you’ll reach the side of the cliff. You can slide down part of the way. All right?”

“Okay,” I called down to them feebly. I would just have to trust Master Nish and Obi-wan to take care of me. I let go of the cliff. I felt the Force tugging on my body, guiding it down to a part of the cliff that stuck out from the rest of the face. I hurt my bottom when I landed. Then I started to slide down. Master Nish occasionally called out encouragement. I sniffed and fretted the whole way down, getting dust on my clothes and rubbing against rocks and dirt. Finally I reached the edge of the slide and I jumped down, Nish and Kenobi guiding me down. I landed on my feet. The two masters ran up to me.

Master Nish normally didn’t like for me to cry, but he felt rather compassionate at the moment considering the state I was in. He picked me up and let me cry it out on his shoulder. His thoughts betrayed the opinion that I was acting like a baby, but he was just very relieved that I was okay. 

“What happened, Yzil? Tell me.” he said.

“Anakin...Anakin went to help you,” I blubbered. “He jumped over the cliff before I could catch up with him. I just wanted to stop him.” I started wailing again and Nish patted my back.

Over my master’s shoulder, I saw Anakin Skywalker watching me with his hand over his mouth. He was shaking a little.

I stopped crying and looked up at him. “Are you...laughing at me?” 

“Me? No,” he said, grinning at me and chuckling aloud. 

“It’s not funny, Anakin!” I jumped out of Nish’s arms and ran up to Anakin. I wanted very badly to kick him at that moment.

“Yzil, no!” shouted Nish. He grabbed my arm from behind. Obi-wan had also jumped in front of Anakin defensively.

“Let me go!” I shouted to my master. 

“Yzil, that is no way to react to how he treated you. Now, Young Skywalker, I need you to apologize to my Padawan.”

“Oh,” said Anakin, his face falling a little more. “I’m sorry, Yzil. I shouldn’t have left you behind like that. I won’t ever do that again.”

“You’d better not ever do that again,” said Obi-wan sternly. 

“That should be enough, Yzil. Now calm down and wipe your face off,” Nish instructed. I stopped struggling and wiped the tears and snot off of my face. All I did was smudge the dirt. I must have looked like a sight, with dirt on my clothes and face and my hair a mess.

“That’s a good girl,” said Nish. “Now I think we had best go pick up those prisoners. Anakin, why don’t you call the Garel Police and see if they’re on their way."

Anakin called the police while the four of us walked back to the ridge. He reported that the police were on their way with a shuttle. One of the shooters was still lying on the ground against the white ridge, his leader and dead companion on the opposite side. Obi-wan and Anakin went to the far side of the ridge to collect the leader and they brought him over.

“Not so tough now without your big guns, are you?” Obi-wan said as the lead shooter came over a gap in the ridge. The Nikto man glared at him. Obi-wan made him sit on the ground next to the sniper.

“Now what would your names be?” asked Master Nish.  
“My name’s Shateesh,” said the lead shooter.

“Ret’an,” said the accomplice. 

“And I assume you both work for the Cabinet?” Obi-wan asked.

“Yes,” said Shateesh, glowering at us. “You are correct as usual, Jedi scum.”

“That was rather cold-blooded, killing one of your own,” Nish said.

“She had it coming to her,” said Shateesh. “Kimila was a weakling, ready to defect to the highest bidder.”

“Coward,” muttered Ret’an.

“Quiet, let me do the talking,” Shateesh hissed at him. “We didn’t want her giving you too much info about our hard work, now would we? But of course you would have done the same, to one of your own.”

“That is not true,” said Obi-wan. “You have allowed anger and hate to make you forget the truth.”

Shateesh snickered. “And what do you Jedi know about truth, eh? Truth is a matter of who’s talking.”

“Who else is in your organization?” asked Nish.

“We will not betray our comrades lightly, Jedi,” said Shateesh. 

“Well, we’ll see if you feel more like talking about it later,” said Obi-wan, looking over his shoulder. The Garel City shuttle came humming over the cliffs. The police chief came out with a contingent of officers, who put the assassins in binders and took them on board. 

“Well, I suppose we’ll stop before we get out of here to pick up the speeders,” said Obi-wan as he and Anakin turned to follow our prisoners.

“Master Nish, Master Kenobi,” I spoke up. Obi-wan stopped, and all three of them looked at me. “When we get back to Garel City can we stop and get Cadnodan shaved ice?”

“No, little one,” said Nish. “Your conduct and Young Skywalker’s conduct today have been less than exemplary.”

“What?”

Anakin cringed.

“Treats like Cadnodan shaved ice should only be reserved for rewarding good behavior, now let’s be off.” He grabbed me by the hand.

“It wasn’t my fault Anakin left me on the side of a cliff,” I protested. Master Nish commanded me to be silent. The half-hour ride back to Garel City was uncomfortable at best. Nish and Obi-wan gave a report to the police chief but they were silent towards myself, Anakin, and the prisoners. 

“Well, don’t worry about it,” Anakin said to me when we disembarked in Garel City. “In a few years you’ll have mastered the Force enough to jump over a cliff without looking back, and then you won’t be such an ankle-biter.”

“Hey!” I snapped. Master Nish restrained me. 

 

We spent the night at the police station (and for the first time in my life I was grateful to take a bath). The next day, with our prisoners on board in a secure compartment, the four of us left on the Republic cruiser that had brought us. I couldn’t bring myself to make eye contact with Skywalker for the remainder of that trip. We made a report to the Jedi Council by hologram. The masters then interrogated the prisoners. It turned out it didn’t take much to get them to talk. They even revealed that the Cabinet had connections in the Senate that had given them a heads-up that the Jedi were going to Garel to arrest one of their own. The two prisoners didn’t tell us everything, but the Jedi would eventually put a stop to the Cabinet’s activities. 

During the interrogations, Anakin was in the cockpit showing off for the pilots while I was in my quarters, meditating about what I had done wrong, just as Master Nish had instructed. It didn’t take me long to figure out what my mistakes had been. But Anakin Skywalker, oh, his faults were many, and I simmered over them for hours.

On Coruscant, Master Nish and I received a new assignment to go to the Anoat system. It was while we were in transit there that I revealed something embarrassing.

“Master,” I said shyly to Master Nish.

“Yes, Yzil? What is it?”

“You know how the Jedi code says we’re not supposed to hate?”

Master Nish nodded.

“Well, I hate someone,” I said, blushing.

“Oh. Who is it you hate, then?”

“Anakin Skywalker.”

Master Phish Nish gave a gasp of laughter. 

“What is so funny, Master?”

Master Nish took a deep breath. “Oh, Yzil, you’re so funny sometimes.” He knelt on the ground so he could look me in the eye. “I don’t blame you if you are irritated with young Skywalker. But hate is a very strong word for what you are feeling. You don’t wish to cause him harm, do you?”

“No,” I lied. I wanted to punch him in the gut. And I knew Master Nish knew I was lying.

“Well, see to it that you temper your emotions. You may dislike him all you want, but you must never let yourself act on those feelings. Tell you what, there’s a much better way to say how you feel.”

“Okay. What is it?”

“It’s called loathing. It’s when you have a strong dislike of someone but without hating them in a way that cankers your soul. Can you say you loathe Anakin Skywalker?”

It was worth a try. “Sure.” I nodded.

“Good girl,” said Master Nish. He picked me up and gave me a hug. “Oh, you’re getting so big. Before too long I won’t be able to even pick you up. Haha!” He loathed Skywalker too. Perhaps not as much as I did, but he found it amusing that I felt the same way. He wasn’t surprised, to say the least.

And so from that day on, I absolutely LOATHED Anakin Skywalker.


End file.
